Joe Biden’s low approval ratings aren’t just affecting him… they’re affecting the entire Democrat Party.
Vulnerable Senate Democrats are now trying to distance themselves from Biden.
Despite voting 98% of the time with Joe Biden, @Bob_Casey is now desperately attempting to distance himself from the deeply unpopular president.
— Pennsylvanians for McCormick (@PAforMcCormick) May 20, 2024
It won’t work.https://t.co/1ZkeKIRv64
The Hill reported:
Vulnerable Senate Democrats are distancing themselves from Biden’s ailing brand after polls show him trailing former President Trump in several battleground states.
Democrats in tough races are breaking with Biden over border security, liquified natural gas exports, the Israel-Hamas war and tariffs on Chinese goods.
They’re staying competitive in the polls despite Biden’s low approval ratings and lagging position relative to Trump, but they are worried the president’s political brand will start weighing them down as Election Day nears.
“If you go out there and do a focus group, the focus groups all say, ‘He’s 200 years old. You got to be kidding me.’ And the worst part about it is for unaffiliated voters or people that haven’t made up their mind, they look at this and say: ‘You have to be kidding us. These are our choices?’ And they indict us for not taking it seriously,” said a Democratic senator who requested anonymity to discuss the alarm sparked by Biden’s weak poll numbers in battleground states.
Polls have shown that 40 percent of registered voters in battleground states were not too satisfied or not at all satisfied with the candidates in the presidential election.
The senator said Democratic colleagues “know this is a problem” but also realize it’s too late to do anything about it and that “this is the ticket we have to get behind and we have to win with this ticket.”
“We’ll see how much gravity we can defy,” the lawmaker said of senators in tough races who are polling better than Biden.
A second Democratic senator, when asked about Biden’s poll numbers, said the president’s age is a persistent concern among voters.
“Biden’s showing his age in ways weirdly more than Trump,” said the senator, who noted that Trump, 77, is only four years younger than Biden, 81.
“People keep saying, ‘Why didn’t he take a pass, he’s just so tired?’” the senator said of constituents who are baffled over Biden’s decision to run for a second term. “That is such a prevalent feeling.”
Biden sometimes appears to walk stiffly or with a shuffling gait, which Republican-aligned critics love to point out in social media posts.
The lawmaker also cited the high costs of basic goods and services as another political headwind facing Biden.
“People are shocked at the cost of a house and the cost of drugs,” said the senator, who pointed out a can of midgrade paint now costs $55 a gallon.
A New York Times/Siena College poll of 4,097 registered voters across six battleground states found Biden trailing Trump in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania and tied with him in Wisconsin.
The same poll, however, showed Democratic Senate candidates leading their likely Republican opponents in four states — Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who is running for reelection in Pennsylvania, where Biden is polling behind Trump 36 percent to 40 percent in the New York Times/Siena College survey, has split with Biden on liquified natural gas (LNG) exports and holding up arms to Israel.
“There are numerous occasions where I don’t agree with administration policy. LNG is the most recent example as well as the decision [Biden] made about arms transfer to Israel,” he said.
“Polling across the board at this stage is of limited value,” he insisted.
Casey’s work to distance himself from Biden on key issues appears to be paying off. Polls show him currently leading hedge fund CEO and Republican candidate David McCormick 46 percent to 41 percent.
A majority of voters in Pennsylvania — 54 percent — said they trust Trump to do a better job of handling the economy, while 42 percent trust Biden more.
And more Pennsylvania voters — 47 percent — said they think Trump would better handle the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians than those who trust Biden more on that issue — 42 percent.
“I’ve got to work every day to earn every vote, and that’s true of every candidate. I think in the end the president will carry Pennsylvania, and I think I will too,” Casey said.
Republicans say efforts by Senate Democrats to flee Biden’s brand won’t save them in November.
“President Biden’s favorabilities are the lowest of any president in 70 years. It’s a big problem for the Democrats. They know it,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (Mont.) said.
Your eyes aren't fooling you, many products you're buying are smaller in size while the price stays the same. It's called shrinkflation and I'm fighting back.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 10, 2024
A recent report from Axios indicates that Joe Biden is in denial about his poor polling numbers.
From Axios:
President Biden doesn’t believe his bad poll numbers, and neither do many of his closest advisers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: The dismissiveness of the poor polling is sincere, not public spin, according to Democrats who have spoken privately with the president and his team.
That bedrock belief has informed Biden’s largely steady-as-she-goes campaign — even as many Democrats outside the White House are agitating for the campaign to change direction, given that Biden is polling well behind where he was four years ago.
The public polling simply doesn’t reflect the president’s support, they say.
